The Ethereum Developer Fund, EIP-2025 Considered For Istanbul

Ethereum’s protocol is about to undergo a substantial update. The Istanbul hard fork is the next stage on the road to Ethereum 2.0. Some features like EIP 1702 and EIP 2024 have been approved for implementation in the hard fork. In sharp contrast, the proposed EIP 2025 put forward in June has been met with a lot of criticism from the community of developers.

The proposal seeks to fund Ethereum’s development by increasing the token’s inflation rate. If approved, the next leg in the development of the platform will be funded by money raised from block rewards. Consequently, EIP 25 suggests that an 0.00055 ETH per block will be added as development fees for the next upgrade. The proposal, however, does not mention the accountability or utilization procedures of the funds.

Eric Conner, a builder at ethhub.io, has vehemently opposed the proposal saying:

“Reading through the latest Ethereum Core Dev call notes and it appears that EIP-2025 is being seriously considered as an EIP for Istanbul. EIP-2025 adds 0.044 ETH per block for 3,100,000 blocks to go to a dev fund. That is 136,400 ETH. Absolutely absurd! This cannot happen”.

He further adds:

“Follow up on this. Apparently, the EIP has a typo and its 0.0055 ETH per block, not 0.044. However, to me, anything >0 is a non-starter”.

Will EIP-2025 Set a Bad Precedent

Most Ethereum fans opposed to the proposal, say that ETH should sorely be used to secure the Ethereum blockchain. The blockchain should then be kept as a secure and neutral platform for Dapps development. They also are rather surprised that Ethereum, a top-notch blockchain platform, is looking for development funds.

The maths shows that an addition of 0.0055 ETH to 3,100,000 blocks will produce 136,400 ETH. This is a fiat equivalent of $30 million at the present ETH/USD rate. The opposing community says that the figure is too high to raise casually, especially without any reflection on accountability.

Likewise, Ethereum diehards also feel that the EIP-2025 proposal sets a terrible precedent for the blockchain. Schemes that allow the embedding of developer fees in the blockchain’s fee structure might become commonplace. If the proposal is passed, it might also throw Ethereum decentralized claim off balance.

Do Ethereum’s Developers Need it?

The passed proposal would be a sure sign that the Ethereum’s developers are the platforms puppeteers. Besides, most open source developers earn from their arsenals of programming and consultancy projects. The revenue they generate is often more in value than that, they provide to open source projects like Ethereum.

The EIP-2025 protocol was discussed in the Ethereum core developers meeting held on July 18. The proposal is meant to fuel the ecosystem’s development. However, developers like Ameen Soleimani of SpankChain who runs MolochDAO a funding mechanism opposed it.

Ameen said that the proposal would weaken Ethereum’s “store of value” appearance. The proposal says that the extra rewards will be produced for 18 months then halted. The mined incentive will, however, not benefit the miners but will go to the developers, or instead to an organization.

James Hancock, the man behind the proposal, has said he also has not thought of the best way to organize the funds. He has however suggested the creation of a DAO to distribute the funds to deserving projects. The community has therefore called for enhanced vigilance to deter such proposals from becoming a reality. They have asked developers to undertake a DAO-ICO if they need the funds.